Herb Scott

Perhaps, as home inspectors we have become a bit too skeptical. I say two thumbs up to ASHI. I’m even more proud to be a “Certified Memberâ€

Chris, I stated and you quoted in your post " Any thing less than the 18 degree F delta T and you risk of not seeing something that is there and / or misinterpreting what you see." What about that statement "is simply not true" ? Herb Scott

Chris, Sounds like a good use of IR to help confirm a suspicion. However, my opinion is that IR should not be "Included with the home inspection". I only offer it as a separate service only to be done under the right conditions. As you mentioned the delta T is critical. Many times of the year in many parts of the country there will be less than ideal conditions to do a good / proper building envelope Infrared evaluation. Any thing less than the 18 degree F delta T ( for those not familiar with the term, the difference between the interior temperature and the exterior temperature) and you risk of not seeing something that is there and / or misinterpreting what you see. I'm not saying that you cant see things with less than an 18 degree difference but if there is , you better have an explanation / disclaimer in your report. I'm sure you know that some times this can be adjusted for by controlling the interior temp. But the best bet is to do the IR evaluation early in the morning. Like 6 or 7 AM. Not exactly the best time for most home owners, buyers, or agents. After having owned the camera for about a year and getting the necessary IR education (Level II Certification) I've come to believe that this is not an "Inspection tool" but it is a tool that can, under the right conditions, be used by someone with the proper training and a a very good knowledge of construction, be used for inspections. Herb Scott

I agree, I only offer it as a separate service. The truth is that many times of the year in many parts of the country there will be less than ideal conditions to do a good / proper building envelope Infrared evaluation. Any thing less than an 18 degree F delta T (difference between the interior temperature and the exterior temperature) and you risk not seeing something that is there and / or misinterpreting what you see. I'm not saying that you cant see things with less than an 18 degree difference but if there is , you better have an explanation / disclaimer in your report. Some times this can be adjusted for by controlling the interior temp. But your best bet is to do the IR evaluation early in the morning. Like 6 or 7 AM. Not exactly the best time for most home owners, buyers, or agents. After having owned the camera for about a year and getting the necessary IR education (Level II Certification) I've come to believe that this is not an "Inspection tool" but it is a tool that can under the right conditions, used by someone with the proper training and a a very good knowledge of construction, it can be used for inspections. Herb Scott

Chris, Either you have more ethical realtors in your market or I'm just not doing it right. I also waited about a year , took the training (Level II cert) got familiar with the camera. Than, after 7 years of not even entering a realtor's office I booked and did 9 presentations on IR. I quickly remembered why I stopped marketing to realtors. The presentations went well, I didn't flub anything. But the snickering , the looks, the comments in the parking lot, ("Hope I never see you on one of my listings") were all very discouraged. These are the people who are supposed to be working for their clients. I'm already known as "realtor unfriendly" so that didn't help, but they looked at me like I had two heads. The last thing they wanted to hear about was a tool that would no longer limit the inspector to only what we can see with the human eye. Hope your doing better than me at selling IR to agents. Herb Scott

Kinda of like lead paint.

Its good information to have. I would do the inspection to see if there were any obvious reasons. I've inspected "fairly efficient" houses where the builder forgot to put insulation in the attic. So it may be as simple as that. Be sure to mention it in your report and if there are no obvious reasons recommend further evaluation like a line test or a blower door test. Also, if there is radiant floor heat in a vacant unheated house, I would flag it until an Infrared evaluation confirmed that there were no leaks. This would be an excellent use of IR. If possible, have the agent or the bank turn up the heat the night before the inspection. If there is a leak, you would probably smell it. Especially with the house being closed up.

Pa consumers / buyers do assume we are all licensed or that we all meet the laws requirements. I think this is due to the realtors lack of doing their part. (I really hate it when spell check tells me to capitalize the "r" in realtors) We simply don't have the timely access to the buyer that the agents do. If we did, we would inform them that only 3 Associations meet the Pa law requirements. ASHI, NAHI, and 3rd smaller one that I can't think of now. My understanding is that nachi does not meet the requirements and therefore if a nachi inspector is used the information obtained can not be used to re-negotiate the sale price. Why would the agent not tell the client this? Because those who do not meet the minimum requirements are likely not as knowledgeable or as experienced as those who do meet the law requirements. This equals an easier sale. I don’t regret the current law. It was a tough fight just to get what we got, and we knew that it isn’t enough, but it is a foot in the door. I hope the current bill gets passed. It’s another step in the right direction, but one thing we need to remember. Legislation will be a continuing battle and we need to stay in the fight